Hawks Handle the Reggie-less Raptors - HAWKS 96, RAPTORS 78

written by Ryan Dickison
 
HAWKS 96, RAPS 78
Leading into Sunday’s game against Atlanta, the Raptors had won seven of their previous nine home afternoon games. The Hawks meanwhile, rolled into Toronto on a back-to-back coming off a win on Saturday over the New York Knicks.


The Raptors were without Peja Stojakovic due to a swollen left knee but more importantly, they were missing the league’s third best rebounder Reggie Evans, who is currently sidelined with a non-displaced fracture in his right foot.

With a thinner line-up, there were more minutes to go around and more rebounds to be had without Reggie crashing the glass. Joey Dorsey made his first career start in place of Evans and filled in nicely, creating second chance opportunities early in the game for his teammates. Dorcey finished the game with 9 points and 6 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

Former Sixth Man of the Year Leandro Barbosa went head-to-head with reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford. Each contributed for their clubs off the bench with 8 and 10 respectively but it was Josh Smith who did it all on this day racking up his third career triple double. J-Smoove finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, to go along with 3 steals and 2 blocks.

It was an even game throughout until the third quarter, when the Raptors got outscored 25-11 which turned out to be the difference in the game. The Hawks once led by as many as 23 and cruised their way to an 18 point victory.

The Raptors have now lost 2 in a row following a four-game win streak that ended Friday against the Celtics. They look to turn things around on Wednesday when rookie sensation John Wall and his Washington Wizards visit Toronto at the Air Canada Centre.

KEY NOTES:

• The Raptors made only 1 of 12 three-point field goal attempts
• The Raptors posted a season low 78 points
• The Hawks remain 1 of 3 teams in the Eastern conference with 10 wins or more (Orlando and Boston)
• The Hawks improve to 7-2 on the road this season, the best record in the Eastern conference
• Young Onez Watch:  DeMar 13 pts/6 boards, Weems 8 pts/4assists, Amir 5 pts/6 boards